The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-10-07
Ladies' Department.
Housekeeping Made Easy.
BY CHRISTINE TERHUNE HERRICK.
IN THE BEDROOM.


things for the average chamber.maid
to learn. 1.-THE mistress cannot in
struct her maid servant in the care
of bedrooms by precept, let her call
example to her aid, and with her
own hands bring to a proper state
One showing will not suffice. Even
with conscientious domestics close
watch is necessary to prevent neg
lect.
To begin, then, the maid must be
informed that because bed.making is
a daily recurring duty is no cause
for it's being slurred over or hurried
through. Rather is it a demand for
added attention. She must learn
that the right way to make bed is
not to straighten the under sheet
with e. few vigorous witches, bring
up the other covers with an energet-
ic sweep of the arm, smooth up the
spread, and adorn the completed work
with pair of gorgeous pillow.shams
pinned on over mussed or musty
pillows. Nor can the neatness of
the rest of the chamber be achieved
by half a dozen flirts of a feather
duster, the filling of the pitcher with
fresh water, and emptying the slops.
Yet this is all that many bedrooms
receive even from the girl who en-.
cages herself as "professed chamb-
er-maid." One may possibly toler-
ate such treatment in hotel or
boarding house, but in ones home
better things may surely be expected.
The first item of fine bed-making
is demanded from the occupant of
the couch. Her duty it is, immed-
lately upon rising, to throw back
the covers over the foot of the bed
on to q couple of chairs placed there
for that purpose. They should new
er be tossed in heap on the floor to
gather dust from the carpet or
mating. The mattress should then
be half turned, that the air may get
at both sides of it, and the opened at
top and bottom, admitting a sluice
of the fresh outer atmosphere. Even
in the coolest weather this should be
done for few minutes, while in sum
mer the bed should stand uncovered
for at least an hour before making.
The habit of leaving ones room in
perfect order when one goes to
breakfast is not commendable "a far
as the bed is concerned. The other
Encouragement necessary may be
then, but the couch should be left
stripped until the unpleasant vapors
generated by the body during the
night have been dispersed and the
bed thoroughly sweetened.
When the bed is made, the mat.
tress should be laid with TIE side
above that was below the night be.
fore. Over this comes the mattress
cover of unbleached muslin, with it's
filling of single layer Of cotton bat.
ting. This must be drawn very
closely over the mattress, and snugly
tucked in at the sides, top and bottom.
The under sheet can hardly be pull
ed too tightly. Upon this smooth
drawing and firm binding of the bed
by the covers depend the symmetry
of the whole. Not wrinkle must be
suffered to show. What seems but
a slight fold in sheet or blanket is a
serious blemish as outlined under
the white spread.
The ordinary house.maid is with
difficulty deferred from putting on
the blankets upside down. By what
process of the uncultured mind the
idea is evolved that the opening
should be at the bottom rather than
at the top it would be hard to say.
The spread that covers all may be of
plain white cotton or an expensive
combination of satin and lace. What
ever it is, it should be clean and un
rumpled, and to preserve these quail
tiles it must be removed every night
neatly folded, and laid aside. Added
warmth may be furnished by the
misnamed comfortable, or by a duvet
or afghan, laid folded across the
foot of the bed in the daytime and
drawn up at night. Cheap blankets
of mixed cotton and wool, or the
simple coverlets made of cream or
colored cheese cloths, filed with bat.
ting and tufted with worsted in the
style of the heavy chintz quilts,
whose weight alone is almost enough
to produce nightmare.
Tastes differ as to the style of
counterpart to be used. The white
is always neat, and is in reality the
most serviceable, because it may be
made to look as good as new by it's
passage through the hands of the
laundress. Indeed, Marseilles spreads
if properly done up, improve with
repeated washings. They lose thus
that stiffness which shows a misfold
nearly as plainly as would sheet of
paper and renders it impossible
to draw them SIN oothly and evenly